Adore You
by Ichinen Pride
Summary: In which Eijun is a stubborn prince who spends his day freeloading around the castle with dreams of escaping this place, and Kazuya is his unyielding bodyguard who loves keeping tabs on his majesty and making fun of his indecent manners. The two have yet to experience true love in their fantasia world. This is their story.
1. On These Days, I Have Many Thoughts

**A/N**

Inspired by Seventeen's debut song: "Adore U".

This song really spoke out to me and gave me the idea of a fantasy realm with knights, princes, and a whole lot of romance, and thus, this work was born~

The rating will go up as the story progresses, so please keep that in mind

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Ace of Diamond

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 **On These Days, I Have Many Thoughts**

An ideal world for a prince, could contain many things that will suit his most wanted desires. Such as sleeping in late, having a gourmet meal for breakfast, lunch, _and_ dinner, getting to visit the village past his curfew for a late night adventure, and last of all, the freedom to make decisions on his own without having his higher ranking officials telling him ' _no'._

How this life would've been more worth living than his _own._ He had none of this, and it kept him at bay from unleashing his inner boredom from this dull, wretched place.

Fourth prince to the kingdom of Seido, Sawamura Eijun, had always had a good heart and one that will always stand for what he believes in as well as his duty to do what's right. He had a mind that seeked adventure; to explore the unknown and discover surprises that lay just beyond his reach. If only he had the will and freedom to stretch even further to grasp on to that dream for excitement.

But when will that day come, and will he truly be ready to enter this new realm?

Honestly, the boy only had these thoughts when he's by himself; confined within the walls of his room in the west-wing tower, and contemplating whether or not he should just climb out the one window by his bed, and pray that the leap down won't give him two broken limbs, and a sprained back. All of this, _just_ to at least stretch his legs out instead of gaining back the weight he had lost miraculously from losing his dinner privilege from his commanding officer.

He sighed in utter boredom, his face was planted atop his small desk in the room as he tapped his foot against the concrete flooring. Today wasn't any different as he waited for _another_ one of his teachers to arrive and start on his daily lessons, it was a real drag.

Sawamura sat up and began to straighten out his attire which consisted of, a white button up tunic, a blue vest slung over his shoulder and grey pants. Although it wasn't the "appropriate" clothing for a prince, as his first-in-command Yuki would call it, Sawamura had managed to convince him that since lessons don't involve him doing kingdom work, that he can just wear his normal clothing on his off days.

Or at least, if listening to a boring instructor would be called that, but what would he know?

A frown appeared on his face as he tugged on the sleeve of his tunic and noticed that there was a small tear down the cuff, he would have to have it mended later.

He flinched as he heard something hit his window with a _clunk._ Narrowing his eyes, he got up from his chair and cautiously walked over to it. As he peered out the thick glass, he saw the _one_ person that he did _not_ want to see this early in the morning: his all too knowing bodyguard Miyuki Kazuya. Great, what now?

Sawamura pushed open the window aside and stared down at him, "What do _you_ want?"

"Wow, good morning to you too, _your majesty._ It's nice seeing your wondrous smile at the break of dawn, oh how lucky I am." Miyuki grinned and did a small bow. He then picked up a small stone and began fiddling with it between his fingers. "You know, a stone can make a great sound when you hit it against something. The vibrations from this stone can change the pitch it can create once it hits upon different surfaces."

The prince scoffed, "I hardly care about a tiny _stone._ And who are you to give me a lesson on mere _rocks_ anyways? If I wanted to become a petrologist* than I would've ditched this place the second that opportunity came to me! At least _they_ get to explore unknown rocky territories instead of being stuck in one." _And they have more freedom than I do in everyday life._

Miyuki laughed and tossed the stone away. "What's gotten into you today? You seem more moody than usual and that's when you're in your "happy" mode. Or wait let me guess," The prince's bodyguard walked a bit closer to the stone tower and stared up at his majesty with a smile on his face, "You're having _those_ thoughts again."

Sawamura sighed internally and rested his head on his hand, of course _he_ would know. That guy is more observant than a preying hawk on a rodent.

"So what if I am? It's not a bad thing is it? This place is way too small for my bubbly personality, I'll burst one day, Miyuki!"

The older boy chuckled and waved his hand freely, "Hey I wouldn't say that if I were you, you already have _way_ too much free time as it is. Besides, the amounts of escape tactics that you've already managed to screw up is already your own ticket to Tetsu-san's hell." It was true, the boy had tried numerous attempts at leaving the castle unnoticed, but in the end, he would always be sniffed out by Seido's guard dogs and hauled back into his room.

Each time he tried to escape, each time he was _so_ close to reaching freedom, he would always come back and was even more determined to say the least, that he _will triumph._

And the wait for that continues on.

"The Captain is always on to me so it's kinda impossible to slip by unnoticed, and even if I did manage to bypass him, then it would be his teammates who would spot me instead." Sawamura shook his head in vain, "Honestly I don't see why they bother keeping me here in the first place. I mean I get that I'm to be the next ruler or whatever to this place, but that doesn't mean keeping me locked up like some _princess."_ He spat out the last phrase angrily.

Miyuki shifted his weight to his left foot and sighed, "Did you perhaps, think of _why_ they're keeping you confined to this place? Maybe to -I don't know-, keep you safe from danger? Lately we've been getting reports of spies and bandits from different districts that were lurking around the village the other day, and it seems to me that they're most likely from Inashiro." He then narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"So before you go saying idiotic things that you might regret one day, I think you should see things from their perspectives first, _then_ make your decision."

Sawamura felt his ears burn as he turned his gaze away from Miyuki and let out a stubborn 'harumph'. "E-even if that were the case, I can take care of myself, I'm a grown man now! And why are you talking to me as if we're buddies?!" He will always see his bodyguard as an annoying guy, who always butts into his business even when it's not needed.

The older brunette smirked, "A 'man', you say? Sawamura, you're only seventeen years old, and can hardly make it to the bathroom on your own without asking someone to go with you." Miyuki laughed, "And would you rather I call myself a 'knight' instead? I'm your _personal_ bodyguard, which means that I have to guard your body."

"G-goddamn you and your stupid puns!" Sawamura fumed in embarrassment, this is exactly why he was always bugging Yuki to trade in for a new better partner, and to not be stuck with this self-assertive, hoax gorilla!

Miyuki grinned successfully at his attempt, "Why thank you very much! Your majesty sure does a have a thing with comical jokes, yes?"

"I do not!"

The prince rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest. "But really, what are you doing outside my room this early in the morning? If you're here to wake me up for my daily lessons then you don't have to bother seeing that I'm already awake." _If you dare say that you were just checking up on me I'm gonna seriously lose it._

The other boy laughed and gave his prince a thumbs up, "I just wanted to see if you were up yet, _and_ to check up on you!" Miyuki stared up at Sawamura with a cocky smile as the prince started to babble nonsense, catching "What the hell?!" and "You pompous jerk!" coming out from the boy's mouth.

"Hey now, a prince shouldn't use such profanity with his subjects ya know, it'll leave a bad impression on the public."

Sawamura fell silent and pursed his lips.

Miyuki raised a brow at his sudden quietness, "What's wrong?"

"... You," He started off slowly, "Miyuki, you aren't my 'subject'. I told you not to call people that." The boy's eyes lowered and he placed his hands on the edge of the windowsill, gripping it tightly. Sawamura was always bothered by how many people have told him countless of times to treat his "subjects" or "his citizens" with respect and kindness. Although he never had a problem with doing so, he didn't like calling them as "his own". It felt wrong.

His eyes glanced up as he heard laughter coming from below, and he leaned out a bit further to see his bodyguard smirking. "Honestly, what am I going to do with you." Miyuki's smile softened and he patted the side of the brick tower, "You're such a stubborn prince, Sawamura."

The boy's eyes twitched as he mumbled something incoherent, "You're always teasing me, jerk."

Sawamura glanced back down at Miyuki who was beginning to walk away. "H-hey! Where are you going?" He called out.

The other brunette looked over his shoulder at his prince and smiled softly, "I have morning practice with the other knights, and I think I'm kinda running late." His smile then turned into a cocky smirk as he grinned.

"What? Would your majesty like me to accompany you some more? If you told me that, then I would have an excuse for Tetsu-san why I couldn't make it~"

Sawamura flushed and waved his hand stubbornly, avoiding his gaze. "Who wants whose company?! I don't need you right now, go to your training!"

"Haha! Have a good day then, Prince Sawamura." Miyuki nodded his head, his smile still prominent on his face, as he walked away from the prince's sight.

"Tch, that guy is so confusing sometimes." Sawamura stared at where he was last seen for a little longer before retreating back into his room and flopping on to his bed unceremoniously. His thoughts were lingered on Miyuki, and when he was first assigned to this mysterious bodyguard who had shown up one day at the castle gates and demanded that he gets enlisted.

Sawamura thought it was kind of strange for a boy, who was only two years older than him, to work in the castle at that age, and as a _guard_ too. When he first had laid eyes on Miyuki, it was only a couple of months before…

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"Y-your Majesty! Where are you running off too? You have a meeting to attend to with the other districts…!" A maid's voice cried out, calling to the young prince who had managed to escape her clutches and is now sprinting away at lightning speed. He always hated being tied down to a chair, it was all he was good for in this kingdom: signing papers, making speeches, and attend these boring meetings with the other princes of the district to discuss about other factors of dullness.

Yes, it was hard when you're an energetic, stubborn prince whose life strived for adventure and longing for some excitement out from these walls, it wonders him how he managed to live these sixteen years in the same castle.

Oh well, he'll just have to make do with the present day and just live life as it is, _even_ if it means sneaking out.

Sawamura snickered as he rounded the corner, his eyes widened as something caught his attention and drew him back to where he pressed his back against the wall and peeked at the commotion near the front entrance.

 _I wonder what's going on over there._ Was what he thought curiously.

He saw his commander, Yuki Tetsuya, with a couple of other guards standing by the entrance, and by the looks of things, it seemed like they had a visitor. Sawamura had to crane his neck to see past the group of people, and who exactly they were interrogating. The prince raised a brow as he saw a muddied boy standing across from Yuki, his hair was tousled and the glasses he had on were also dirtied, the poor white shirt he had on had definitely seen better days. In a royal's perspective: this boy was the definition of someone who lived his life by working outdoors and physical work, judging by his muscled physique and tanned skin, Sawamura could tell that this brunette had a rough living.

But according to his currently smirking expression and bright eyes, the prince could've thought otherwise.

Yuki tilted his chin up as he stared down at the newcomer and with a stern voice, asked him a surprising question, "Are you lost? If you are, then I could call upon a knight to escort you back to your residency." For a tough and serious commander, Yuki wasn't going to play any games with anyone, not even with his own colleagues, his job was set in stone: take orders, and carry them out.

The boy in question only looked back at the commander with a cheeky smile before bringing his hand up and rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, Tetsu-san, that's harsh. Can't you at least address me as if you know who I am? You haven't changed a bit." He grinned as he placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder, earning a couple of surprised gasps from the surrounding guards.

"It's been a while."

Yuki raised a brow at him before settling down with a sigh, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms across his chest, "It has, hasn't it, Miyuki Kazuya. I see that _you_ haven't changed your snarky attitude at all either I see."

Sawamura blinked as he continued eavesdropping on the conversation, his interests now peaked. So Yuki knew who this raggy boy was? The stern, strict commander of the first-string guards, who the prince knew _nothing_ of his background, is acquainted with this smirking individual called Miyuki?

"How mean, that isn't how you're supposed to greet someone you haven't seen in _years_ , is it?" Miyuki laughed and brought his hand back down to his side, "So how are things lately?"

"Just get to the point already, Miyuki. Why are you here?"

Miyuki shrugged and shook his head disapprovingly, "Tch, always wanting the flat out answer. But you should know why I'm here: I want to start working here as a knight."

Sawamura raised a brow at his statement and pursed his lips; that guy? A knight? Don't be ridiculous, the only way anyone get's permitted into the royal guards is to get approval from the first in command, and that's Yuki. _But judging how they're speaking to each other with familiarity, it's safe to assume that he won't have a hard time passing the knight's exam…_

Yuki grunted, "That is surprising coming from a boy who once told me that he had no interest in serving royalty. Why the sudden peak of interest?" He waited for Miyuki's reply, but all he got was a heavy sigh and a shift in footing.

"Tetsu-san, as much as I want to continue this conversation on any longer, I'd rather _you_ give me the approval to take the exam instead of prolonging this story-telling." The two men stared at each other in silence as Sawamura held his breath in anticipation as to what Yuki's answer would be.

As if the commander read Miyuki's mind, realization lit up in his eyes for a brief moment before shifting back into his hard expression. He tilted his chin up, "Fine. But before I lead you over to the briefing room, I have but one question to ask you."

Miyuki grinned and nodded his head, "What is it?"

"If you were to "pass" the knight's exam, which rank of monarchy would you prefer to be in service to? There are many here who work hard everyday to try to improve their ranks so that they may be able to someday become the King's personal guard. I am curious to see what your standard is." Yuki asked, his tone set and serious.

The latter raised a brow amusingly, smiling he started to say, "Well, you see, Tetsu-san-"

Sawamura's eyes widened as he waited for the boy's answer, but he was cut off briefly as he suddenly felt a pair of fingers grabbing the lobe of his ear and pulling on it, hard. He cried out in astonishment as he was forced on to his feet and out on to the open, where the commotion from the front entrance turned their attention on to their rowdy prince.

"There you are! Don't think you can get away from your tardiness, your majesty!" It was the maid from earlier, and she was fuming with anger. "You have a duty to the kingdom, as to _my_ duty to _you!_ So please return to your room so that we may get you ready for the meeting!"

Sawamura felt his face burn in embarrassment as heads turned towards his direction, watching him get lectured by his maid like a child. He saw Yuki making a face of disapproval at the unmannered way he was acting and he shook his head at him. Beside the commander, Miyuki had to brush past some guards to see what all the yelling was about, and that was when the two locked eyes.

Miyuki's brown eyes held the prince's gaze as Sawamura was struggling to keep his balance from having the maid tugging on his ear. He gritted his teeth and was about to say something snarky as to why that guy was staring at him, when he saw Miyuki raise his finger and pointed to him, a grin lighting up his face.

"Tetsu-san, I'd like to serve _him_ if I pass the exam."

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What an awkward day that had been for him, not only had he managed to make a fool out of himself by having a mere maid lecture him about manners and princely duties, but he also made Yuki feel embarrassed _for_ him. He would never hear the end of it every time Yuki would bring that day up and remind him of how to act around the guards.

But what was worse was that it was also the first impression that he had made for Miyuki. To this day, he still hadn't asked the self-confident guard why he had blatantly chosen him out of the blue to serve, when they had not even spoken _once_ before in a lifetime _._ Sometimes, he wished he could tell what that guy was thinking, it was already annoying enough with his constant teasing and random appearances throughout his life. Sawamura just wanted to at least know _why_ Miyuki had picked him randomly on that day.

He sighed as the memory brushed by him as he sat up from his bed and stared at the open window. _Miyuki, you're gonna be a hard puzzle to solve. But I swear, I'll make you fess up._

A knock on his door shifted his attention away from the knight as he called out with a forced, "Yes?"

"Your Majesty, the tutor will be arriving shortly, please bring out your writing materials and study books please." Was what the voice had said before he heard footsteps leading away from his room.

The prince nodded his head absentmindedly as he hopped off of his bed and stretched out his arms, feeling the stiffness in his elbows and cracking them slightly. _Oh well, for now I'll just have to find some way to relieve my boredom from this place, then I'll ask that guy my questions._ Sawamura smiled as he went up to the window, and closed them with a soft _clunk._

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 **Notes:**

Petrologist: the branch of geology that specializes in the study of rocks and minerals

 **Comments:**

As I stated before, as the story progresses the rating will most definitely go up, so please bear that in mind. And as usual, thank you all for the support!


	2. I Have So Much To Tell You

**A/N**

I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter, but there will be minor implied relationships between Sawamura and the other characters of this story, this'll be a character development between our lovely prince and the rest of the kingdom ;)

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 **I Have So Much To Tell You**

Honestly, way before when he had all those boring old tutors who had the tone of a droned out walrus, he had always dreaded the idea of waiting for them to begin his lesson. How could he be excited for something that would just put him to sleep after a couple of minutes into the lecture? Sawamura didn't understand how some people could stand this type of education at all.

But it wasn't until a certain individual came along and offered to take the position of his previous teacher, who had to leave the kingdom due to a family emergency from another district. And this man, made Sawamura see the true light of studying*.

… Or not the kind of "studying" that one would think.

So when the prince was getting out his study books, he was more than excited when a familiar soft _tap_ on his door got his attention. He grinned and quickly finished putting everything down. "Come in!" He called out enthusiastically.

The door slowly creaked open and in walked his daily tutor: Takigawa Chris. Oh how Sawamura practically worshipped the man, he was like a father figure to the boy and the prince would always be happy whenever he would see him.

"Chris-sensei! Good morning!" Sawamura chirped and bounded over to the man as he was just closing the door, "What are we learning today, huh? Something _good_ right?"

Chris chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm, finding it pleasing this early in the day. "Well if you find the history of Seido 'something good' then yes, we are going to be having an interesting lesson today, your majesty."

Sawamura laughed in minor embarrassment as he sat himself down at his desk, "You don't have to use 'your majesty' with me Chris! It's weird if _you_ call me that." He smiled softly, looking up at the older man. After all, if it was his favorite teacher calling him that, he doesn't know if it'll leave a good taste in his mouth.

Chris looked at him skeptically, bringing up another chair to sit beside the young prince and placing down his books and belongings on the table. "If you say so- so you'd like me to just call you Sawamura instead?" The corners of his lips tilted up as he looked down at the now grinning prince.

"Yes! I mean- it's weird when people call me that, so just call me without any labels." Sawamura laughed nervously, adjusting himself on the seat and reaching over at one of Chris's books, and picking one up to start flipping through the pages.

"Woah, that's a lot of words in a tiny book! Do I really have to learn all of this?!" He gawked at it with his mouth open as his eyes went back and forth through the onslaught of pages.

His teacher chuckled and plucked the book out from his hands as he set it down and passed Sawamura a different book. "Not quite, we're just going to cover the basics and origin of the three kingdoms first, and then get into specifics later on. Starting out in small steps is better than throwing a bunch of information at you, am I right?"

Sawamura nodded in agreement and grinned, "Yes! It's always a pleasure in learning with you," He flipped open the book to the first page and noticed a strangely colored map, words were faded away but the outlining of lands could be made out with three individual areas that are in proximity of the other.

"A… a map?" He asked in confusion as he squinted at the content and brought the book closer to his face.

"Indeed it is, that map was how the original three kingdoms stood: Seido, Inashiro, Yakushi- it looks different back then than it does now. Because if you look right here," Chris leaned over and pointed to where the borders touching, "There weren't any checkpoints or outsider lands between the kingdoms, all of it just collided with one another and we were only separated by a thin marked line."

Sawamura continued staring at the map in awe, the land masses look more widespread than it does now, it was like three pieces of a puzzle that fitted altogether. It was different now though, with more and more people wanting to reside outside of the three major territories, many have built up their own residential towns that strayed far away from monarchy rule. They called them 'Outsider Lands', a name that signifies those who oppose the royal families.

Of course, the head of the three kingdoms had no objections over this, they let them built up their towns outside of the border lines, and left them alone, it was as simple as that. They had passed a law where there shall be no affiliations between the Outsider Lands and the three kingdoms, to maintain a stable relationship and prevent an all out war.

Although this was the case, it wasn't safe to say that the three kingdoms had grudges against _each other_.

It all started with an unintended thievery from Yakushi in the Seido and Inashiro district, after that had happened, Inashiro began to develop a major distrust from both of the other two kingdoms. Seido had tried to stay out of the issue but was dragged in nonetheless when Inashiro began sending over troops to the north- Seido and to the east- Yakushi, proposing that they start letting their knights live within their territory.

Both kingdoms had refused. Angered, Inashiro had launched a surprise attack on to Seido, the north was a war ground for many innocent villagers as well as for the Outsider Lands. The territorial war lasted two days before Yakushi entered and countered Inashiro's advancement into the north, halting the invasion and stopping the war.

This happened twenty years ago. The Outsider Lands and kingdoms have subsided and the peace that had followed was what many had hoped for during the days of war.

But Inashiro's grudge still stood, and Seido had only recently found their people hiding out within their neighboring village

Sawamura had heard of this story many times, in different versions, sometimes his guards would tell him that this happened instead of that, and vice versa. But only one thing still stood the same: that the kingdoms are still suspicious of each other, and one must be careful when mentioning an opposing district.

It was depressing, was what he would think from time to time.

His gaze lowered and he placed the book back on the table, closing the cover gently. "Chris-sensei, do you think our kingdoms will ever make up? I mean, I get that we still have a grudge with Inashiro, but that was in the past- what matters is the future and not something that is covered in cobwebs and dust." the prince glanced up at his tutor who also had his gaze fixed on his.

Chris blinked and a small smile formed on his lips, "Sawamura, if that is what you think, then I support your cause. It is true that what had happened during the war is what some would call 'ancient history', but what matters is how we can fix what was wronged, and- like you said, look towards the upcoming days where it _really_ matters."

"So yes, I do believe that peace will finally find its way around soon."

Excitement sprouted within his chest as his eyes lit up: a world where the kingdoms would be at peace with each other, just the thought of that lighted something inside of him.

He grinned and threw his arms around a surprised Chris as Sawamura laughed, "That's great! Now I'm even more excited when that day finally comes around!"

Taken aback by his Majesty's sudden movement, Chris only sighed and patted the prince's head, smiling a bit, "I applause you on your enthusiasm, but we really need to get back to the lesson."

At his words, Sawamura immediately pulled away and laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, you're right. But really, it's nice to have those thoughts now and then right?!"

"Yes, it is, now take your journal and start writing down important facts about Seido's territorial lands."

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Two hours have passed ever since his lessons and after indulging in Chris's lessons, Sawamura finally had his break time. He bid his farewell to his tutor who in response, praised him for his willingness to learn. Ah how the young prince loved it whenever Chris praised him, it made him feel as if he did something _right_ for a change. That's not to say that he had a thing for compliments, it's just that if it's Chris, it felt more 'at home'.

But as always, after he would attend Chris's lectures, Sawamura would leave the castle walls and go wander around the gardens: Seido's paradise. The kingdom was well known for it's beautiful and lush green fields and buds that would sprout into blossoms. There was a pavilion that was centered in between the luscious grass that would attract the sunlight and lighten up the fields beyond.

If there was a day that Sawamura wasn't in the middle of lessons, attending meetings or being bothered by Miyuki, you could find him here, under the pavilion or sitting under a blossom tree.

So that was where he was now, the young prince let out a tired yawn as he stretched his arms over his head as he strolled over to the bench residing within the canopy, and sat himself down as he stared out at the garden in front of him.

 _Mmm, it's really nice out today, much better than when I came out here a few days ago when there was a huge downpour, now_ that _was crazy._ Sawamura smiled and leaned back against the wall of the pavilion. _Now what should I do today? See what's for dinner tonight? Take my horse out for a ride around the village? Catch some beetles?_ The amount of things he could be doing right now was endless, and he sure had that much time to perform them.

A pair of footsteps caught his ear as he twisted his body around and noticed his two friends walking towards him. A grin brightened up his face as he waved his arm out at them.

"Haruichi! Satoru! Over here!" He called out to them.

The pair wandered over to the boy, and the smaller one smiled at the prince. "Eijun, you're here by yourself again?"

"Yeah, I just finished my lessons with Chris and now I'm just taking a break. It felt nice out so I thought to myself 'why not'?" Sawamura laughed and reached out to pull on the two other boy's arms. "But enough with that, since you guys are here now, we can have some _real_ fun!"

Furuya sighed as he was being pulled at by his Majesty. "We just finished with our daily exercises and sparring practice, can we at least take a short nap before, err 'playing'?" The dark haired knave shook his head as Haruichi laughed nervously and Sawamura grinned some more.

"Satoru, please? Just this once, let's go enjoy ourselves with the three of us!" He blinked pleadingly and smiled.

Haruichi nodded his head in agreement, "I think it's about time we had some time off, and besides, we don't have anything else to do for the rest of the day so it's perfect!" The shorter glanced up at the still poker faced boy to see any signs of reaction from him.

"Heh heh, I know _exactly_ what we can do actually!" Sawamura beckoned them closer until they were in whispering range. Apparently, Furuya had no choice but to abide as he sighed once more and listened to what the prince had to say.

"Let's go out to the village and explore! I haven't been out there in _ages_ since the Captain caught me trying to sneak out!" Sawamura laughed rambunctiously as Haruichi and Furuya glanced at each other in uncertainty.

"... Eijun, are you sure that's a good idea? Didn't Miyuki already tell you that it's getting pretty dangerous out there with Inashiro spies lurking around-" Haruichi tried to explain the situation to the brunette but he brushed it off.

"Miyuki can go babysit me some other time, but right now I wanna go out and have some fun time with my best buddies! What do you say? Please?" He looked up at them with big eyes as he pouted his lips and held their hands firmly.

Haruichi and Furuya looked at each other once more before the smaller sighed and smiled while the taller looked away with a distant expression.

"Alright, if it's for you, then I guess we can accompany you _this_ time." Haruichi nodded, feeling the excitement radiate off from Sawamura as he let out a cry of victory and leaped off of the bench. Furuya and Haruichi took a step back to let the prince cool down.

Sawamura grinned happily, _finally_ something to do around here besides attending meetings and listening to boring old men talk about things he didn't really care about!

Something exciting is about to happen, he could feel it in the marrow of his bones.

"Yes! Okay, so I have this fool proof plan that is _sure_ to work! I just need three things: a large wagon, a horse, and a whole lot of _shit._ Think you guys can help?" he waggled his brows smirkingly, and the faces on the knaves paled, almost as if they're thinking "what have we gotten ourselves into this time?".

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"Hey, where are you knaves off too with those things?"

"Sir, we've been asked kindly to by the prince himself to take out this mass of garbage." Haruichi smiled, the corners of his lips twitching as the guard glanced at him and Furuya suspiciously.

To back track on the prince's so called "plan", what it was, was yet a simple hide and escape through moving objects strategy. Sawamura would bury himself within a pile of mixed compost and dirt, courtesy of the family's royal gardener, and sit tight while Furuya and Harichi wheel the mound outside towards the village where they would dump off the load in the local waste hole.

Of course, Haruichi blantaly refused the very idea of this, calling it _revolting_ and that this isn't what a prince of the kingdom should be doing. Furuya honestly didn't like the idea either, but after Sawamura promised him lunch in the village's finest eatery, the dark haired boy compiled by heaving pounds of dirt and tossing it on to the laughing prince.

And Haruichi just shook his head embarrassingly, as the gardener only chuckled as he watched the youngsters helped him take away the excess compost.

Now this is where their current situation stood: Haruichi riding atop of a black stallion while Furuya held on to the reins, and a giggling prince under the piles of who knows what.

The guard continue to peer at them with a brow raised before backing away and giving them the go-ahead. "Alright, you kids can pass, but please tell his young Majesty not to give Miyuki a hard time, that kid was complaining about how the prince was always calling for him at the earliest hours of the days and ranting to us how he couldn't get enough sleep."

Haruichi stiffened as he immediately shifted his head towards the _now_ moving pile of dirt.

Sawamura fumed as fisted his palms together. _What- that bastard Miyuki telling people that_ I'm _responsible for his sleep loss?! Why I oughta-!_

"W-well, okay we'll make sure we tell him that when we see him- have a nice day sir!" Haruichi immediately signaled to Furuya who nodded his head and leapt on to the horse, seating himself behind the boy as he took the reins and galloped away from the confused guard.

When the trio wasn't within hearing distance from the front gates, Haruichi craned his head over Furuya's shoulder to glance at the mound. "Eijun! You almost gave us away! Please hold your anger in _after_ we get to the village."

Sawamura popped his head out from the pile of dirt and threw his arms up, "That damn bastard complaining about _me_ that _I_ make a fuss about _him_? Are you even kidding me- that guy always wakes _me_ up at the crack of dawn and he's saying that _I'm_ responsible?!" Sawamura rambled on and on as Haruichi sighed heavily and turned his attention back to the front of the road.

He looked up at Furuya, "Is the ride to the village not that far? I've never been out here before either."

"Yeah, it's not that long- see? You can see a couple of those houses from here now." Furuya nodded his head at the upcoming cluster of small buildings at the end of the road. The rickety wheels of the wagon creaked as they neared the small village, with each gallop that the horse took, Sawamura felt his heart beat faster. He did it, he finally left the kingdom unnoticed.

Now let's just hope that no one suspects of him being gone for a while, and _then_ he can rest easy.

"Eijun, we're almost there, do you see it?" Haruichi's voice called out to him as he pointed to the upcoming sight.

The prince pulled himself up from the pile of compost, not caring that he was getting dirty, and slowly made his way towards the front of the open wagon. His eyes widened and he could feel a grin slowly becoming apparent on his face.

"Woo hoo! Go faster Satoru!" He yelled happily.

Furuya blinked as he smacked the reins slightly, "Please don't yell- I'll go a bit faster." The horse let out a cry and it picked up pace, pulling the wagon behind it with an over excited prince.

As they passed by more unmarked landscapes, the trio finally made it to Seido Village. Furuya steered the horse through the cramped town streets, searching for the place where they could drop off the pile of dirt and waste.

After a bit of scouring the town and politely asking fellow citizens for directions, the trio finally found a place to park off their ride and get themselves settled. Sawamura let out a whoop of excitement as he leaped out from the dirt pile and brushed himself off unceremoniously. Haruichi frowned at the prince's unsightly behavior.

He went up to the brunette and began to help him pick out debris from his clothing. "Eijun, a prince mustn't be see like this, what do you think the citizens will say if their future king was playing around in a pile of compost?" The smaller boy picked off a few leaves from the prince's hair.

Sawamura grinned, "Haruichi, don't think of it like that: think of it as a way of telling those people that _I'm_ a prince who is true to himself rather than presenting myself as someone who I'm not. It works out better that way." He finished cleaning himself (or as decent as he can get), and began walking towards the streets.

"Come on you guys! We have a lot of exploring to do!" He pointed to the crowds of people whom were bustling around the street shops.

Furuya nodded and tugged at Haruichi to follow in tow.

The dark haired boy unconsciously brushed his hand against the hilt of his sword which was strapped by his side and stared at the back of the prince. If something were to happen, then he would be ready, he was trained for this sort of procedure and would not let anything harm the prince, for _whatever_ the cost.

After all, Furuya owed Sawamura his life.*

Haruichi noticed that his fellow knave in training had stiffened ever since they had arrived at the village. He saw how content and set his eyes looked when he was around Sawamura, and that made Haruichi think that he too his job seriously.

A gleam of amusement brighten in the young boy's eyes as he walked alongside his friend. If Furuya was getting serious about this trip to the town, then so shall he- it was the least he could do for a fellow rival* who was fighting for the same position as him.

Sawamura noticed that his friends had fallen behind and he slowed down a bit so that he may walk alongside them. "Hey you guys are walking pretty slow, what's up?" He wrung his fingers behind his back as he peered at their faces curiously.

"... Don't tell me you guys are really hung up on 'guarding' me throughout this entire escapade?"

The duo flinched at his words and began sweating.

"W-what makes you say that?" Haruichi manage to get out, not wanting to look at the prince's face. Furuya nodded at his question, refusing to say anything to him.

Sawamura pursed his lips and went in between the two, placing a hand on their shoulders. "Look, didn't you remember what I said? That I wanted this trip to be fun with the three of us? I get that you want to do your job too, but when I'm here, there's nothing to worry about!"

His expression changed as a grin lighted up his face and he slung an arm around the two apprentices shoulders playfully, pulling them closer to him. "After all, you guys are my best friends, and best friends do fun things together- so let's make this a memorable trip!"

Haruichi gawked at him for a mere second before smiling: how his Majesty had said that made him feel warm inside. It warmed his heart knowing that this prince was always optimistic about his surroundings and with the people he was with. Honestly, how was he supposed to keep up his duty while making memories with this guy?

Furuya also felt the same, his eyes widened and he looked away from Sawamura. "I... - You still owe us lunch." Was what came out of his mouth instead.

Sawamura blinked at the taller boy and then laughed. "Of course! What ever you guys want! Hell- I'm probably gonna treat myself to some of that grub too!"

Furuya rolled his eyes as Sawamura tugged them along all too happily. His hand had never left the hilt of his sword, but as they continued walking through the busy streets of Seido Village, he felt his grip loosen from the weapon. He loosened up and walked alongside his two friends- thinking about what he should get for lunch.

* * *

 **Notes:**

1\. The story behind how Chris and Sawamura met will be revealed later on in the story, though it might not be as tragic as how they met in the actual show.  
2\. Sawamura in fact did save Furuya's life in the past, and that is why you will begin to see a sort of devotion and respect he has for him, waay different than in the show thats for sure. Their back story will again, be shown as the story progresses.  
3\. Haruichi and Furuya are rivals, I wanted the two to have something in common and strive for- thus having them bang heads against each other will develop their sense of trust for each other

 **Comments:**

This is a slow build fic, so if you are expecting hardcore smutty action, then be patient, and what you wait for will be well worth it~ ;))


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